My local attorneys were very good at educating me and helped me to negotiate a fair settlement. But I would never use Cordell and Cordell again for any legal services. Mostly due to the corporate/franchise structure. I paid cash into my account, and had a sizable sum of money due back to me. I closed my account on Nov 5th, and was told I that I would receive a check in the mail as “soon” corporate accounting. It took nearly 3 weeks for my check to be sent out, and I was unaware that the check was certified(had I known would have just scheduled a pick up at post office). Looks like postal service aided in the mess, as I never got the notice that I had an attempted delivery. And as you may imagine, a nearly divorced man being gouged by his ex could probably use a months worth of income right before Christmas, right? Well here we are on December 27th and I still have no check, and was just told that the process is basically going to continue to drag out until the check is retrieved and processed by accounting(yeah right?). All these lawyers are as good as the other. Best bet is to stay with a local privately owned firm...at least that is what I will do from now on

The attorneys and paralegals in this firm really care about their clients. They always keep me updated and give me a 30-day review every month. I can email or call and someone will get back with me as soon as possible. Men, they are truly our friend when it comes to separation and divorce assistance. To me, they are the BEST!

William
Cary NC

I wish there was an option to give negative stars. I was in the position where I was searching for the best litigation/family law attorney I could find while helping my fiancé out in the process of litigation issues brought upon by the crazy ex wife. No matter what product/service I am looking for, I always base my search mainly off of good reviews and first impressions that I get when initially calling the firm to ask questions or schedule a consultation. I came across Cordell & Cordell and they seemed like a wonderful choice based on the content and amount of 5 star reviews via their website. They were the first place I actually called to inquire about a consultation, and the last! The woman that answered was beyond helpful and willing to answer questions honestly and not in a hurry to just book the consultation and get off of the phone. She never mentioned cost or fees once and I was so pleased and comfortable with this interaction I stopped looking. I immediately set up a consultation for my fiancé and I encouraged him to retain them for his case because I felt that comfortable—even when the attorney rates were double what most firms charge.

I quickly found out that my perception of this firm was completely wrong. I am disgusted. I could write literally write a novel about all of the wrong and twisted ways that this firm conducts business. PLEASE do NOT be fooled by the advertising, questionable 5 star reviews, and the act they put on for the public that they have men’s best interest in mind. This firm doesn’t have a human beings best interest in mind. I honestly think more time was spent documenting emails sent, short phone calls, anything possible you can think of, to keep the bills coming. They represent the firm as a “partner men can trust”. Literally I wouldn’t trust them to take care of my dog. I have no problem paying a premium for good representation that can help through the tough times and guide me through the process. Maybe I am being biased towards the whole company solely based on the attorney that was assigned to represent my fiancé, but the sole fact that this attorney has a job at the firm says it all. I am begging anybody who is thinking about retaining Cordell & Cordell to represent them, to save their money and represent themselves. The attorney had no problem blowing smoke up our a** the whole time, and recommending filing counter suits, etc. oh he was good at making us believe he was handling it all for him. Until it came down to ACTUALLY SPENDING TIME, A WHOLE DAY TO BE EXACT, representing him in mediation. A donkey could have helped him get a better outcome. He didn’t explain anything or specifics in documents that he wanted signed...nothing. And then when he voiced his concern after the fact about particular issues, his response merely implied that he was an idiot who knows nothing; and acted annoyed that he was being “bothered” with a question...but wait!!!...you guessed it, he sure took the time to document that phone call so he could bill for that to. YEAH, IM THE IDIOT THAT HIRED YOU AND PAID YOU 10,000+ DOLLARS TO ARRIVE AT A FINAL RESOLUTION 50x worse than He was in to start. I am not sure if he was just lazy, didn’t like his job, uneducated, or just flat out didn’t give a sh*t about his job.

Overall, we paid around 12,000 to get to where we are now...and where that is consists of this: reading, analyzing, and picking apart every single word in every email correspondence and document filed and documented, while researching any and all complaints of grievance that can be filed with the NC Bar Association. Before you retain Cordell and Cordell, consider ME! I have achieved more results and gathered more evidence in my (free) research and analyzation than this ridiculous place did over 6 months and 12,000. So many better ways to spend your money, don’t give it to them.

Cordell and Cordell overbilled and underperformed. They failed to present a cogent argument, failed to properly question witnesses, and failed to properly prepare for the case. What they DIDN'T fail to do was charge me for documents that were not even necessary.
The last straw was being charged over $300 to review a basic 5 line document. That's right - 5 measly lines. When I tried to lodge a complaint, I was at first ignored, then told they had done nothing wrong.
Find another attorney, these guys don't care.
Note: my attorney was John Machuca.

RIP off stay away. They just want your $$$$. Robbed me for 13k and never even finished the job. DO NOT DEAL WITH THESE HACKS.

My attorney Mr. Machuca was nothing short of phenomenal!! Walk me through everything step by step took the time and cared that I understood the direction we were going. I asked him from day one to be a straight shooter with me and that's exactly what he did. I would recommend Cordell & Cordell especially Mr. Machuca to anyone!!!

Great service

I called for a consultation and legal aid sound confused and not confident on any information. Sounds like a scam artist. 10/7/19

I listen to the radio ads for the year and thought I'd call.
Should have known better.

Zach Underwood was a fantastic attorney! I can't say enough good things about Zach. He professionally represented me with my divorce. He listened to me, was attentive and provided me with sound advice regarding my family and my life (after divorce). I highly recommend Zach Underwood and the attorneys at Cordell & Cordell.

Yeah they just charged me a disabled Veteran for a consultation $100 and then they told me they couldn’t help me

This review is long overdue and I have to say I'm surprise to see this negative comments about the firm.
On my part I'm extremely grateful to have chose them to representing me on my custody fight.
Thanks to attorney Zach Underwood I was able to obtain primary custody of my daughter now after a year I dont regret anything I have to pay this firm for their professional services

Zach was very straightforward in every aspect
He keep me updated the in the whole process
And always keep a positive and friendly attitude towars me.

I feel I can count on him as a friend
And he didnt let me down we won our case

I strongly recommend this firm to anyone

After 5 months of working with Bennita Bullet, she didn’t even know my daughter’s name. My initial motion to file for contempt of court against my ex wife has still not been heard by a judge and thousands of dollars later, my situation has not improved at all. I finally parted ways with Cordell & Cordell and am now starting from scratch.

The whole experience of being represented by them felt like a scam.

They promote themselves as defenders of fathers’ rights but that’s nothing more than a good tag line to prey on a very underrepresented, and therefore, desperate demographic of fathers who have custody battles with women who do their best to alienate their children from them and deny them of a precious fatherhood.

Bennita Bullett and her law firm are no better for you than the ex you’re trying to get away from.

Could not have had a worst experience. The first day I showed up for the consult Goodman said she hadn’t even looked at my file. She led me into a mediation that cost 10K and if I would have signed would have set me back for life. Her advice was simply awful. The opposing attorney constantly write slanderous emails about me and Goodman never stood up for me. Cordell is a sweat shop that could care less about the client. I guess that’s what I get for picking an attorney based on a radio add. Thanks goodness I found a great Charlotte attorney who cleaned up the mess Goodman created and got me a fair deal.

Bennita was great at representing me and getting back to me in a timely manner. This law firm understands how to represent men who sometimes get the bad end of the stick.

Please Take A Moment To Read: The experience with Cordell and Cordell was horrible from day 1, and I should have seen the writing on the wall.

1. I consulted with Susan, liked her and decided to hire her. After i completed all the paperwork, they pushed me off to another attorney.

2. I explained from the beginning that i would like to have estimates on time as we go along, John agreed, but never followed through.

3. He never had a strategy, all he kept saying was "this is how it usually happens" and I said to him over and over again, I am not looking for the usual approach.

4. There were SEVERAL questionable hours billed, including one where i was billed for an email he sent me, but we had already covered this information twice...while i cannot say for sure that hours were being "fluffed", it certainly felt that way.

if you are looking for an average or below average firm and/or attorney, then perhaps this office is for you. But if you are looking for someone who is truly going to fight for you, then THIS IS NOT THE FIRM OR THE ATTORNEY!

Thanks for reading :)

At a time of great confusion, hurt and the need for rational guidance, attorney Belinda Bullett has been there for me. She has allowed me control of my case and at the same time reeled me in to gain the best outcome for my children and myself. Thank you Mrs. Bullett for being there for me.

Stephanie Kelly was my attorney. At first I just wanted to file for divorce. I had not used an attorney before except for once years ago for a traffic violation. I had really put myself in a bad situation by signing a separation agreement without consultation. To top things off I was living out of state. Ultimately in the end Stephanie was able to give my life back to me by working out a deal with my ex and her attorney that was very much in my favor over the separation agreement. I give Stephanie all the credit for this. Simply put, she is very good a what she does.

My Case is being handled by Bennita Bullet and I can passionately say that while going through one of the toughest stretches in my life, I have been comforted immensely by Bennita. Although my Case is not settled yet, I feel with the utmost confidence in Bennita, that the outcome will be favorable and I can get on with my life. Fathers love their kids as much as Mom's do, sometimes more. Bennita and Cordell and Cordell recognize that.

J. E. E.

I went in for a consultation about separation papers that my x-wife had made without me and Zack Underwood gave me straight forward advise without trying to set me up to pay more than I had to. He used to full hour to go over all the details, if I needed help in the future he would work with me and I would definitely seek him out. He was very professional and sensitive about the situation. Thank you Zack Underwood.

The biggest problem I had in my divorce is that I didn't contact Stephanie Kelly BEFORE I signed my separation agreement. I didn't have legal representation and I paid for it big time. Stephanie did represent me through the rest of the process and was absolutely excellent. I have recommended her to my male friends that are going through the same process. I wouldn't wish divorce on my worst enemy. Well okay, maybe there's a couple folks that I would. But Stephanie was great in handling my questions in a professional and timely manner. She made the process much more tolerable and took a load of stress off me knowing that I was well represented. The only problem I had with Cordell in general is that there were no lollipops in the conference rooms. If men are suckers (by their own doing like I did) during the divorce process, then it would be nice to be offered one by your attorney to make it all official... (sigh)

Very positive experience. Cordell and Cordell atty. Stephanie Kelly has done an exceptional job handling my case. Very contentious difficult case. Stephanie helped me put in place a separation agreement, custody agreement, and a motion to resolve harassment. A year later defended me on a suit from my ex seeking custody. We won on all accounts but really my kids won. Stephanie's hard work resulted in my keeping custody of two young boys, keeping our home, and financial stability for us to move on. Divorce when children are involved is the most serious of life situations - don't mess around. Very happy with Cordell and Cordell / Stephanie Kelly.

My main focus was to ensure my ex-wife did not try to move out of state with my kids. My attorney Stephenie Kelly worked with me and we came up with a plan to ensure I received both 50% physical and legal custody of my children. I feel that had we not been proactive and standing strong on the custody part my ex-wife would have tried to move out of state. Stephenie was also very good at keeping me focused on making logical choices rather than emotional ones. She could have recommended litigation which would have just racked up a large legal bill, but rather she help me see that agreeing halfway on the alimony would save me overall by not avoiding an expensive court trail. As a result of her guidance, my ex-wife and I are good terms and work together very well, which is great for my kids.

I received good advise and excellent service from the firm and Stephanie Kelly in particular.

I initially used an attorney from a different law office. That was a big mistake. Stephanie Kelly at Cordell and Cordell was excellent and I wish I would have used her to begin with. In addition to being strategically minded for my benefit (I nicknamed her the chess master), she anticipated potential future scenarios and provided guidance on how to handle them. Furthermore, she provided very sound, thoughtful, wise, and objective advice/guidance during a crazy period in my life that helped me personally navigate through the storm.

I would highly recommend Cordell & Cordell, and especially Stephanie Kelly, for someone in need of a divorce lawyer in the Raleigh area. My situation was somewhat unique and the support, guidance and counsel I received from Stephanie made the process more bearable. She was very easy to work with and the result of my case was more than satisfactory.